Soft color proofing refers to a proofing process that makes use of a display device rather than a printed hard copy. Traditionally, color proofing techniques have relied on hard copy proofing, where proofs are printed and inspected to ensure that the images and colors on the print media look visually correct. For instance, color characteristics can be adjusted and successive hard copy prints can be examined in a hard proofing process. After determining that a particular proof is acceptable, the color characteristics used to make the acceptable proof can be reused to mass-produce, e.g., on a printing press, large quantities of print media that look visually equivalent to the acceptable proof.
Soft color proofing is desirable for many reasons. For instance, soft proofing can eliminate or reduce the need to print hard copies on media during the proofing process. Moreover, soft proofing may allow multiple proofing reviewers to proof color images from remote locations simply by looking at display devices. With soft proofing, there is no need to print and deliver hard copy proofs to remote reviewers. Thus, soft proofing can be faster and more convenient than hard copy proofing. Moreover, soft proofing can reduce the cost of the proofing process, including hardware, material and delivery costs. For these and other reasons, soft proofing is highly desirable.